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100 Most Influential People in Finance

The CFOs, treasurers and risk managers who impacted the world of finance and treasury this year.

The ongoing debate about financial regulatory reform and the looming European debt crisis are two dominant themes in Treasury & Risk’s 100 Most Influential People in Finance list this year. The 2012 list includes lots of movers and shakers in Washington, reflecting the efforts there surrounding derivatives and money-market fund regulations, the Volcker Rule, convergence with international accounting standards, corporate tax reform and the federal deficit. There are also a number of global leaders on this year’s list as companies watch to see whether the eurozone’s problems will derail the global economic recovery. The heart of the list, though, remains the corporate finance executives—CFOs, treasurers, risk officers and others—who continue to come up with better ways to get the job done and innovative approaches to help their companies flourish.

CFOs

WERNER BRANDTCFO AND MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARDSAP Brandt has led the technology company’s finance function through three major acquisitions— BusinessObjects, Sybase and SuccessFactors—in the last four years. Now he faces integrating a fourth acquisition, of e-commerce company Ariba.

JACK CALLAHANCFO AND EVPMCGRAW-HILL COS.Callahan, who joined McGraw-Hill in 2010 after serving as CFO at Dean Foods, is dealing with McGraw-Hill’s split into two public units by spinning off its education unit. The effort involves extensive cost cuts and the disaggregation of the work done by the company’s shared services center.

JEFFREY CAMPBELLEVP AND CFOMCKESSONAs finance chief for the massive pharmaceuticals distributor, Campbell is credited with assembling an effective team and leading it well. Prior to joining McKesson, Campbell was CFO of AMR and its subsidiary, American Airlines.

PAUL CLANCYCFO AND EVPBIOGEN IDECSince becoming CFO of the biotech drug company in 2007, Clancy has coped with proxy battles mounted by activist investor Carl Icahn and turnover in the CEO spot. More recently, he’s overseen a resurgence in Biogen’s stock.

DAVID GRAZIOSICFO, TREASURER AND EVPALLISON TRANSMISSIONGraziosi joined Allison in 2007, shortly after it was purchased from General Motors, and since then has built the financial infrastructure necessary for a standalone company, improved the balance sheet by cutting debt and played a key role in the company’s IPO earlier this year.

DANIEL HENRYCFO AND EVPAMERICAN EXPRESSAs other financial firms capsized amid the market meltdown, Henry helped American Express successfully navigate the crisis. And this year, he was recruited to join the board of Groupon to provide accounting expertise after the coupon company had to restate its 2011 financial results.

DAVID HERZOGCFO AND EVPAMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUPHerzog is leading an epic turnaround at the insurer, the progress of which was evidenced by the Treasury’s sale of another chunk of its AIG stake in May. The effort to mend the insurer involves a host of strategic decisions by the CFO.

RONALD JADINCFO AND SVPW.W. GRAINGERAs finance chief for the distributor of industrial products since 2008, Jadin worked to contain costs by doing more with less as he steered the company through the recession.

JOE KAESERCFOSIEMENS Kaesar gained recognition for responding to the impact of the eurozone crisis earlier than many other finance executives. He also has obtained a banking license for Siemens from the German Financial Supervisory Authority and set up a new financial operating model, One Siemens, that’s focused on capital efficiency.

SETURAMAN MAHALINGAMCFO AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTORTATA CONSULTANCY SERVICESA 40-year employee of the Indian IT services provider and its CFO since 2003, Mahalingam has played a key role in Tata’s growth into a $10 billion global company that is outpacing its Indian rivals.

SCOTT MORRISONCFO AND SVPBALL CORP.Morrison and his team put together an enterprise risk mapping system run on Ball Corp.’s intranet that lets the company assess and prepare for potential risks. He also extended Ball’s debt maturities for 10 years at favorable rates, strengthening the company’s financial structure.

PETER OPPENHEIMERCFO AND SVPAPPLEOppenheimer and Apple made a splash earlier this year by deciding to issue a dividend for the first time ever. As the tech company’s finance chief since 2004, Oppenheimer has a reputation for being a strategic CFO with strong people skills.

VASANT PRABHUCFO AND VICE CHAIRMANSTARWOOD HOTELS AND RESORTSWhile steering the company through the downturn, Prabhu managed to cut costs and reduce debt to position the hotel operator for the recovery. Now Starwood is expanding rapidly in markets such as Latin America, China and the Middle East.

KIMBERLY ROSSCFO AND EVPAVON PRODUCTSSince joining the beauty products company last fall, Ross has dealt with turnover in the CEO position and a takeover bid from Coty, while overseeing a finance department dealing with a long-running Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation. Next up: executing a turnaround.

JAMES SAWYERCFO AND EVPPRAXAIR Sawyer, who has held the CFO position for the last 12 years, developed a strategy to better link Praxair’s decision making process with its financial objectives, in part by more tightly controlling capital spending resulting in industry leading return on capital. Praxair has provided an annualized shareholder return of 16% over the past decade

TRACEY TRAVISCFO AND SVP, FINANCERALPH LAURENTravis has served as finance chief for the apparel company since 2005, and over the last year and a half, she has presided over an impressive performance by the company’s stock.

KATHY WILLARDCFO AND EVPLIVE NATION ENTERTAINMENTWillard has handled the financial aspects of divestitures, spin-offs and more than 200 acquisitions for the giant entertainment company, most notably its 2010 acquisition of Ticketmaster.

Finance Pros

RAFFI BASMADJIANHEAD OF GROUP CASH MANAGEMENT & TREASURY ITFRANCE TELECOM Over the last year, Basmadjian oversaw a revamp of France Telecom’s cash management and treasury structure that included cash pooling for 210 entities, netting for 197 and a treasury and cash management shared service center that serves 77 units. The company’s payment factory is due to be rolled out in 2012.

JÖRG B. BERMÜLLERHEAD OF CASH AND RISK MANAGEMENTMERCK KGAA As German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA–not to be confused with Merck & Co. in the U.S.–made a steady stream of acquisitions in recent years, including the purchase of Millipore, Bermüller was responsible for the smooth integration of treasury tasks, including implementing a risk management system and expanding the payment factory.

GARY BISCHOPING JR.TREASURER AND VPDELLBischoping led a transformation of Dell’s global treasury operations that standardized and automated processes and moved treasury from multiple platforms to just one. The effort, which included streamlining bank connectivity via SWIFT, provided Dell with real-time visibility into cash, liquidity and risk.

BRENT CALLINICOSTREASURER AND VICE PRESIDENTGOOGLECallinicos and his team continue to automate Google’s treasury functions. Recent initiatives include expanding the payments infrastructure to non-treasury payment and automating the reporting system. Meanwhile, Callinicos has taken on added responsibility for the company’s worldwide accounting and tax.

NICK CYPRUSCONTROLLER, CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER AND VPGENERAL MOTORSAs the auto company’s controller since 2006, Cyprus has redesigned the controller’s organization, staffed it with world-class talent and developed training programs to meet accountants’ continuing education requirements and train them in key high-risk areas.

PETER DOREYMANAGER, GLOBAL TREASURY OPERATIONSTALISMAN ENERGYDorey is leading a program to enhance the Canadian oil and gas exploration and production company’s global treasury operations by implementing multicurrency notional cash pooling, centralized forecasting and FX management and enhanced technology.

ROBERT FALZONTREASURER AND SVPPRUDENTIAL FINANCIALFalzon developed a more risk-sensitive capital management framework to evaluate Prudential’s alternatives for redeploying capital, which results in greater capital flexibility. The framework includes a dynamic capital protection plan that identifies emerging stress scenarios.

JORGE GOMEZCFO, PHARMACEUTICAL DIVISIONCARDINAL HEALTHPrior to being named to his current position earlier this year, Gomez served as Cardinal Health’s treasurer. In that position, he led risk management efforts that strengthened the balance sheet and resulted in several credit rating upgrades. He also played a key role in the $5 billion spin-off of the medical devices unit.

TESSA HILADOSVP, FINANCE AND TREASURERPEPSICOHilado has upgraded PepsiCo’s cash and debt management capabilities and provided leadership in the redesign of the defined-benefit pension plan, as well as the design and execution of a systematic hedging program. She also led funding efforts for a number of the company’s acquisitions, including the $7.8 billion transaction for its bottlers.

JAMES HODGESVP, CORPORATE CONTROLLER AND TREASURERCA TECHNOLOGIESHodge led efforts to reduce leverage by more than $1 billion, which resulted in a ratings increase to investment grade (BBB+/Baa2) from speculative. He also centralized CA’s global cash management by using netting and both physical and notional cash pools.

RICHARD LAUTCHTREASURER AND VPSTARBUCKSLautch has played a key role as the coffee chain remodeled its financial structure by adding debt, via a commercial paper program and bond issuance, implementing a dividend and getting rid of underperforming stores.

TERI LIST-STOLLSVP AND TREASURERPROCTER & GAMBLEAs P&G’s treasurer since 2009, List-Stoll completed the $2.7 billion divestiture of the Pringles business, and oversaw a $1 billion issue of 10-year notes at a record-low 2.38% yield, as well as the formation of a healthcare joint venture with Teva Pharmaceuticals.

FRANÇOIS MASQUELIERHEAD OF TREASURY AND CORPORATE FINANCE, SVPRTL GROUPAt Europe’s largest TV, radio and production company, Masquelier has implemented a group-wide reporting process for internal controls, developed a governance risk and compliance tool, and focused on setting up full straight-through processing across the company’s treasury systems.

MARK MCDONOUGHTREASURER AND VPMERCK & CO.McDonough and the Merck treasury team were early adopters of ISO 20022 XML messaging and SEPA credit transfers, using them to implement a standard cash management process and global interface for payments and collections. The solution yielded savings by increasing cash visibility, enhancing yields and cutting bank charges.

ANITA PATTERSONDIRECTOR OF TREASURY SERVICESCOX ENTERPRISESPatterson provides strategic direction on all treasury issues for the media company, including managing banking arrangements and ensuring Patriot Act compliance. She also serves as vice chairman and a member of the board for the Association for Financial Professionals.

CATHERINE PORTMANVP, TREASURYJUNIPER NETWORKSPortman led efforts that resulted in Juniper’s obtaining an investment-grade rating from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, followed by the company’s first public debt offering. And her analysis of Juniper’s global counterparty risk enabled the company to take steps to reduce its potential exposure.

GEORGE ZINNTREASURER AND CORPORATE VPMICROSOFTIn 2011, Microsoft took home the overall Alexander Hamilton Award for the fourth time, as Zinn and his team continue to come up with solutions that address significant treasury issues, such as cash visibility and risk tracking.

Risk Managers

GRACE CRICKETTECHIEF RISK OFFICERUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Crickette is credited with saving the university considerable sums with her initiatives, which include putting in place safety programs, improving claims management systems, developing risk financing strategies and implementing ERM throughout the university.

DOROTHY GJERDRUMCHAIR, U.S. TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP For ISO 31000 AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PUBLIC ENTITY AND SCHOLASTIC, ARTHUR J. GALLAGHER As ISO 31000, an international risk management standard, gains users among U.S. companies, Gjerdrum serves as chair of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group, which worked on the draft standard.

DAVID INGRAMEVPWILLIS RE Ingram provides thought leadership on the theory and practice of enterprise risk management for insurers. As a member of Willis Re’s analytics teams, he works with insurers on practical ways to employ ERM to determine strategies and actions to enhance their risk-adjusted value.

PAUL SOBELCHIEF AUDIT EXECUTIVE AND VPGEORGIA-PACIFIC Sobel is a thought leader on the topics of risk management, internal audit and governance, and has written three books, including “Auditor’s Risk Management Guide: Integrating Auditing and ERM.”

THOMAS WILSONCHIEF RISK OFFICERALLIANZ Wilson oversees risk for the global insurer, which handles both property and casualty and life, as well as having an asset management arm. He is driving its preparations for Solvency II and won kudos for his work steering Allianz through the financial crisis.

BANKERS

SCOTT BARTONCO-CEO, INTERNATIONAL BANKINGRBS Barton was named co-CEO of international banking, a unit combining the bank’s global banking and markets operations with the international arm of its global transaction services business, in January. Previously, he was CEO of global transaction services, where he refocused strategy and helped drive the business forward.

PETER CHERECWICHCOO, CORPORATE AND INSTITUTIONAL SERVICESNORTHERN TRUST In 2011, Cherecwich led Northern Trust in making and integrating two strategic acquisitions that built the asset servicing unit’s capabilities in the growing areas of hedge fund administration and ETF back-office services. Cherecwich’s unit also took on large new clients in Australia, Asia and the Middle East last year.

JEFF FICKEDIRECTOR OF TREASURY MANAGEMENT AND SVPFIFTH THIRD BANCORP Ficke’s leadership has propelled strong growth in Fifth Third’s treasury management business. He has developed robust analytics and reporting teams in the unit.

MICHAEL FOSSACECAREGIONAL HEAD OF CLIENT SALES MANAGEMENT FOR CORPORATES, NORTH AMERICA, AND MANAGING DIRECTORCITI TRANSACTION SERVICES Amid increasingly complex regulatory challenges, Fossaceca and his team of more than 100 banking specialists come up with customized solutions for 3,000 clients in North America. The team helps optimize liquidity and create efficiencies in working capital management.

SHAHROKH MOINIANHEAD OF TRADE FINANCE AND CASH MANAGEMENT CORPORATES, THE AMERICAS, GLOBAL TRANSACTION BANKINGDEUTSCHE BANK Moinian drives significant added value in working capital for Americas-based corporates leveraging the bank’s next-generation treasury solutions. By coupling its strong North American franchise and its century-old presence in Latin America with 21st century innovations, he advances treasury efficiencies region-wide.

DIANE REYESGLOBAL HEAD OF PAYMENTS AND CASH MANAGEMENTHSBC Reyes’ position is a new one for HSBC and underscores the bank’s continued commitment to investing in its payments and cash management business. She joined HSBC last year from Citi and has 20 years of experience in financial services.

PAUL SIMPSONHEAD OF GLOBAL TRANSACTION BANKINGBANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH As head of Global Transaction Banking, which combines the bank’s treasury solutions and global custody and agency services units, Simpson leads efforts to provide cash management to 97% of Fortune 1000 companies. Since signing on last year, he has added resources in Asia, EMEA and Latin America.

Technocrats

MICHAEL BODSONCEO-ELECTDEPOSITORY TRUST & CLEARING CORP.Amid the global regulatory effort to rein in over-the-counter derivatives, Bodson and the DTCC are playing an increasingly important role as the back-office provider rolls out trade repositories to track derivatives trades.

JIM HAGEMAN SNABECO-CEOSAPWith the $4.3 billion acquisition of e-commerce company Ariba, Snabe and co-CEO Bill McDermott have given SAP a big boost in cloud computing and gained access to the 730,000 companies on Ariba’s network.

CHARLES PHILLIPSCEOINFORInfor, the third-largest ERP provider, built its product line mostly through acquisitions. Phillips, a former Oracle executive, has invested heavily in R&D and built a platform that lets the company’s individual applications work together seamlessly.

EDI POLONIATOSVP, STRATEGY AND CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTKYRIBAPolianato and Kyriba tapped into an area of great interest to treasury professionals when they rolled out a supply chain finance module for the company’s treasury workstation this year.

BEN BERNANKECHAIRMANU.S. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARDSigns of modest recovery provided no respite for Bernanke, who has had to manage a political standoff on the debt ceiling, a U.S. sovereign debt downgrade and the potential blow-up of the euro. Meanwhile, he has dramatically increased the Fed’s transparency.

MICHAEL BOPPPARTNER AND CO-CHAIR, PUBLIC POLICY PRACTICE GROUPGIBSON DUNN & CRUTCHERBopp’s skillful leadership of the coalition of trade associations representing corporate end users of OTC derivatives allow the group to box above its weight in the debate about regulating such derivatives.

DARYL BUCKBOARD MEMBERFINANCIAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARDBuck, former CFO of a privately held company and a member of the Blue-Ribbon Panel that looked at accounting standards for private companies, was appointed to FASB last year to represent the views of private companies.

ANTHONY CARFANGPARTNER AND DIRECTORTREASURY STRATEGIESWith the regulation of U.S. money-market funds at a crossroads, Carfang is playing a key role in the debate, in part via persuasive white papers.

EDWARD DEMARCOACTING DIRECTORFEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCYAs head of the agency charged with overseeing battered housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, DeMarco has been widely criticized for opposing principal reductions on home mortgages.

JAMES DOTYCHAIRMANPUBLIC COMPANY ACCOUNTING OVERSIGHT BOARDDoty continues to press for audit industry improvements despite being raked over the coals by legislators earlier this year when he testified before Congress about the PCAOB’s consideration of auditor rotation.

JOHN ENGLERPRESIDENTBUSINESS ROUNDTABLEUnder the leadership of the former governor of Michigan, the Business Roundtable has been heavily involved in such key issues as corporate tax reform, the federal budget, derivatives regulations and proxy access.

TIMOTHY GEITHNERSECRETARYU.S. TREASURYIn an election year fraught with potential economic crises and calls for radical solutions, Geithner, the Obama economic adviser with the closest ties to Wall Street, was a voice for moderation, warning that severe budget cutting could spell economic disaster.

GARY GENSLERCHAIRMANCOMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSIONDespite the MF Global debacle that occurred on his watch, and his recusal from the agency’s investigation given the time he spent working under Jon Corzine at Goldman Sachs, Gensler has pushed through new CFTC rules for regulating derivatives.

HANS HOOGERVORSTCHAIRMANINTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARDThe former Dutch finance minister has the daunting task of pressing the U.S. and Japan, two of the world’s largest economies, to move away from their insular accounting standards and join 100 other nations in adopting International Financial Reporting Standards.

GARY KABURECKCHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER AND VPXEROXIn addition to his work at Xerox, Kabureck influences the evolution of accounting standards as a frequent author of comment letters and vice chair of Financial Executives International’s Committee on Corporate Reporting.

MARY JOHN MILLERUNDERSECRETARY FOR DOMESTIC FINANCEU.S. TREASURY Miller, who joined Treasury after a long career in fixed income at T. Rowe Price, is a key figure in the writing of regulations stemming from Dodd-Frank, including the Volcker Rule.

SCOTT O’MALIACOMMISSIONERCOMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSIONA Republican appointee to the CFTC, O’Malia voted against new CFTC rules on derivatives and asked the Office of Management and Budget to do a cost-benefit analysis of the new rulemaking effort.

TOM QUAADMANVICE PRESIDENTU.S. CHAMBER CENTER FOR CAPITAL MARKETS COMPETITIVENESSQuaadman plays an active role in many of the regulatory issues of interest to corporate finance executives, including derivatives, lease accounting, money-market funds and proxy access.

MARY SCHAPIROCHAIRMANU.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONWhether it’s the efforts to reregulate money-market funds, the proposals to adopt international accounting principles or the fight on proxy access, the SEC chair will play a key role.

DANIEL TARULLOGOVERNORFEDERAL RESERVE BOARDTarullo, a former law professor, has become the central bank’s point person on its oversight of U.S. banks and other regulatory issues, such as the Volcker Rule.

Government Agents

BARACK OBAMAPRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Heading into the November election, the president faces another slowdown in economic growth and a crisis in the eurozone that threatens to cause more havoc.

REP. DAVE CAMP (R-MICH.)CHAIRHOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEEThe chair of the committee in charge of tax policy in the House is pushing for a reduction in corporate taxes to 25% in exchange for an end to the current welter of ever-changing credits and exemptions.

SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R-OHIO)MEMBERJOINT SELECT COMMITTEE ON DEFICIT REDUCTIONPortman, Bush’s budget director in 2006-2007, was the go-to Republican on the so-called Super Committee. Portman blames both parties for that effort’s failure, and both the Bush and Obama administrations for the nation’s debt crisis.

MARK PRATERMINORITY CHIEF TAX COUNSEL AND DEPUTY STAFF DIRECTORSENATE FINANCE COMMITTEEPrater served as staff director for the Super Committee, and while it failed to resolve the U.S.’s budget problems, we’ll be hearing more from Prater, especially if Republicans win a Senate majority this November.

REP. PETER ROSKAM (R-ILL.)CHIEF DEPUTY WHIP U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESAn up-and-comer among House Republicans, Roskam has been leading the push for small business tax cuts. He’s also a leading opponent of the inheritance tax and of raising the capital gains tax.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WIS.)CHAIRHOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEEA leading deficit hawk, Ryan’s budget proposal, passed by the House, for the first time it put one party, the Republicans, on record as favoring converting Medicare to a set of state block grants.

Global Leaders

MARIO DRAGHIPRESIDENTEUROPEAN CENTRAL BANKSince taking charge of the ECB last fall, the former head of Italy’s central bank has been trying to save the euro as nations founder in seas of red ink. His preferred solution: stronger economic integration.

FRANÇOIS HOLLANDEPRESIDENTFRANCE After ousting conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy, Hollande, a Socialist, became the de facto leader of a concerted Eurozone challenge to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her policy of austerity.

CHRISTINE LAGARDEMANAGING DIRECTORINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDAs French finance minister, Lagarde was a key player in helping France and Europe weather the global financial crisis. Now, as the first woman to head the IMF, she has taken a hard line on helping Greece out of its debt crisis.

ANGELA MERKELCHANCELLORGERMANY Sticking to a conservative position that Eurozone debtor nations must cut spending and get their budgets out of the red, Merkel faces growing opposition at home and, after the French election, from other Eurozone nations, too. She will hard-pressed to hold to her austerity line.

NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALAFINANCE MINISTERNIGERIA Okonjo-Iweala, who was passed over for the job of president of the World Bank this year in favor of the U.S. candidate, Jim Yong Kim, has fought corruption and pushed to free the economy in Nigeria.

DILMA ROUSSEFFPRESIDENTBRAZILRousseff’s economic policies have helped contain inflationary pressures and positioned Brazil for long-term growth, making it one of the most attractive of the BRICs for foreign investors.

DUVVURI SUBBARAOGOVERNORRESERVE BANK OF INDIAAmid the central bank’s financial reform efforts, Subbarao faces the challenges of a plunge in the rupee and spiking costs, factors that limit his ability to cut rates.

ZHOU XIAOCHUANGOVERNORPEOPLE’S BANK OF CHINAZhou is overseeing a cautious transition to a freely convertible Chinese renminbi. He needs to kick-start the country’s slowing economy and may ease rules on foreign investments in China.

Heavy Hitters

MICHEL BARNIERINTERNAL MARKET AND SERVICES COMMISSIONEREUROPEAN UNIONBarnier is shaking up the audit industry in Europe by pushing for changes like mandatory auditor rotation and a prohibition on audit firms providing advisory service.

ALAN BLINDERPROFESSORPRINCETON UNIVERSITYBlinder employed the phrase “fiscal cliff” in a March op-ed about the pinch the U.S. economy could feel in January from spending cuts and tax increases. The phrase, subsequently popularized by Fed Chairman Bernanke, heightened recognition of risks the nation faces on the fiscal front.

WARREN BUFFETTCHAIRMAN AND CEOBERKSHIRE HATHAWAYAmerica’s third-richest person confounded conservatives with a call for higher taxes on the rich. Arguing that higher taxes won’t deter him or other fat cats from investing, Buffett says the “billionaire-coddling” Congress should raise taxes on those earning more than $1 million.

JOHN CASILLASSVP, BUSINESS-CENTERED SYSTEMSHIMSSCasillas is a pioneer in the development of technology solutions aimed at delivering healthcare more efficiently and cost-effectively, particularly in the area of payments processing.

STEPHEN GIRSKYVICE CHAIRMANGENERAL MOTORSGirsky has played a key role in developing GM strategy since joining the carmaker in 2010 after a career as an investor and earlier a sell-side analyst focused on the auto sector.

BILL GROSSFOUNDER AND CO-CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICERPIMCOThese are tricky times for the fixed-income market, but big bond guy Gross and Pimco remain popular with investors. In fact, PIMCO rolled out a bond ETF this year that attracted $1 billion in assets in just three months.

ANTHONY KENNEDYASSOCIATE JUSTICEU.S. SUPREME COURTWhichever way the Supreme Court rules on healthcare reform, it will have a huge impact on U.S. businesses, and Kennedy is likely to cast the decisive vote, as he so often does.

ALICE RIVLINSENIOR FELLOWBROOKINGS INSTITUTIONRivlin, former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve and a member of the President’s Debt Commission, is working behind the scenes in Washington on efforts to whittle away at the federal deficit.

Moving Targets

LUCIAN BEBCHUKPROFESSORHARVARD LAW SCHOOLCo-author of the book “Pay Without Performance,” Bebchuk has criticized huge compensation packages for corporate executives in years when their companies lose money or even go bust.

DAN BROSSSENIOR DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE CITIZENSHIPMICROSOFT Bross has been vocal on the topic of corporate political contributions, and Microsoft now posts its political contributions on its Web site twice a year. Bross also co-chairs the Conference Board’s Committee on Corporate Political Spending.

DOUG CHIAASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL AND CORPORATE SECRETARYJOHNSON & JOHNSONChia led a redesign of Johnson & Johnson’s proxy statement intended to make it more accessible to individual investors.

LAURENCE FINKCHAIRMAN AND CEOBLACKROCKFink launched a push for better corporate governance at the start of the year by notifying 600 of the mutual fund company’s biggest holdings that BlackRock hoped to discuss key issues with company management ahead of annual shareholder meetings.

HOLLY GREGORYPARTNER, CORPORATE GOVERNANCEWEIL GOTSHAL & MANGESGregory, a leading authority on corporate governance, advises boards, senior executives and international organizations. She played a key role in drafting the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance and advised the European Commission on corporate governance codes.

ANNE SHEEHANDIRECTOR OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCECALIFORNIA STATE TEACHERS’ RETIREMENT SYSTEMSheehan has been influential on issues such as say on pay and proxy access, and created a database of minority directors that CalSTRS, a mammoth public pension fund, offers to companies. This year, she was appointed to the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee.

PAUL VOLCKERFORMER CHAIRMANPRESIDENT’S COUNCIL ON JOBS AND COMPETITIVENESSFormer Fed chairman Volcker pushed what became known as the “Volcker Rule”—an effort to sever commercial and investment banking. Amid bitter opposition from banks, the rule is yet to take effect, though recent scandals have kept it, and Volcker, in play.

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